Possibly even the best libertarian themed band or album to a greater extent. If anyone can propose some good lyrics I’d like to read, or even hear them. Yet, I would like to not just have an anti-war, anti-state themed song, something more specific if possible.
My proposals are:
Clayton -
I’m probably way off base in my analysis or just reading too much into things, but parts of the song “Sleep the Clock Around” by Belle and Sebastian make me think of the whole thing as a joke about delusional Keynesian economics and big-wigged government intervention failing…
And you trusted to this, and you trusted to that
And when you saw it all come, it was waving the flag
Of the United States of Calamity, hey!
After all that you’ve done, boy, I know you’re going to pay
In the morning you come to the ladies salon
To get all fitted out for The Paperback Throne
But the people are living far away from the place
Where you wanted to help, it’s a bit of a waste
Now the trouble is over, everybody got paid
Everybody is happy, they are glad that they came
This version is bootlegged from a recording in Paris but sounds better than the album version. Kinda has a Joy Division sound to the guitar…
The bright light and the noise
The chaos of the senses and the scream of desire
Touching and being touched
A million loose ends to tie up
Ticking of the clock and the cradle rock
The colours stand still
And then they move around
Comin’ in and out of focus upside down
Empty winter trees
How space feels
Love of the soft … the flowers and the sky
One fine day
The chaos subsides
Bleeds into awareness
And a lifetime of surprise
The beauty of your mothers eyes
The pain when you fall
You drink it in and marvel at it all
But you never really figure it out
You get used to it
The babble of the family
And the dumb TV
Roar of the traffic and the thunder of jets
Chemicals in the water
Drugs in the food
The heat of the kitchen and the beat of the system
The attitude of authority
The laws and the rules
Hit me square in the face, first morning at school
The heroes and the zeroes
The first love of my life
When to kiss and to kick and to keep your head down
When they’re choosing the sides
I was never any good at it
I was terrified most of the time
I never got over it
I got used to it
Alone in the city at seventeen
With the hollow and the lonely
The drowning and the drowned
I was made to feel worthless
The wretched and the mean
Beat me up like a weapon I can’t run away from or find a way round
Holdin’ on, holdin’ on
The greed and the missiles
Exploding somewhere every day
Hideous dark secrets under the sea and in holes in the ground
The cold war’s gone
But those bastards’ll find us another one
They’re here to protect you, don’t you know?
So get used to it
Get used to it!
The clash of religions
And the loaded prayers
Information
The face of starvation and the state of the nation
The sense that it’s useless
And the fear to try
Not believing the leaders, the media that feed us
Living with the big lie
You get used to it
Get used to it!
It’s okay, I got used to it
Marillion - Living With The Big Lie
Sixto Rodriguez is an American musician but he’s only really known well in South Africa and a few other former British colonies. If you can get your hands on his album Cold Fact, I highly recommend it.
THIS IS NOT A SONG IT’S AN OUTBURST: OR THE ESTABLISHMENT BLUES
The mayor hides the crime rate
council woman hesitates
Public gets irate but forget the vote date
Weatherman complaining, predicted sun, it’s raining
Everyone’s protesting, boyfriend keeps suggesting
you’re not like all of the rest
Garbage ain’t collected, women ain’t protected
Politicians using, people they’re abusing
The mafia’s getting bigger, like pollution in the river
And you tell me that this is where it’s at
Woke up this morning with an ache in my head
I splashed on my clothes as I spilled out of bed
I opened the window to listen to the news
But all I heard was the Establishment’s Blues.
Gun sales are soaring, housewives find life boring
Divorce the only answer smoking causes cancer
This system’s gonna fall soon, to an angry young tune
And that’s a concrete cold fact
The pope digs population, freedom from taxation
Teeny Bops are uptight, drinking at a stoplight
Miniskirt is flirting I can’t stop so I’m hurting
Spinster sells her hopeless chest
Adultery plays the kitchen, bigot cops non-fiction
The little man gets shafted, sons and monies drafted
Living by a time piece, new war in the Far East
Can you pass the Rorschach test?
It’s a hassle it’s an educated guess.
Well, frankly I couldn’t care less.
I pay my gardener
To clean up my garden
I pay my doctor
To check out da other ting
I pay my lawyer
To fight for my rights
And I pay my bodyguard
To guard my body
There’ s only one man I pay
But I don’ t know what I’ m paying for
I’ m talking about the taxman x3
Chorus: (x4)
What have you done for me lately
Mr taxman
You take from the rich
Take from the poor
You even take from me
Can’ t understand it now
I pay for the police
To err..I don’ t know why
‘Cause if my dollar was good enough
There wouldn’ t be so much crime
In the streets
They tell me you’ re a fat man
And you always take and
Never give
Chorus till fade
Gamma Ray - Condemned to hell is my favourite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UNGZQeExJY
Come get some!
Oppression deadly reign
Madmen gone insane
They hate and bring us pain
Bloodlust in their eyes
Getting high on torture cries
They hate and terrorize
They sacrifice
They try to break my will
They claim the right to kill
My world is standing still
Im lost in hell They try to make me right A prisoner no reason why All I try is to survive The worlds demise
Chained in darkness - Screaming for the light!
Killing pain to save my life
[Chorus]
Condemned to hell - I`m facing the end of my days
Condemned to hell - Their torches are burning
Condemned to hell - My freedom will burn at the stake
Condemned to hell - The dark age returning
They don`t care, they close their eyes
Kick away our human rights
A world dehumanized
Now tell me… how many gave their lives?
How many have to die?
Killed by official lies
With stars and stripes
Pain and anger - Killing all the light!
Darkness comes… eternal night
[Chorus]
Condemned to hell - I`m facing the end of my days
Condemned to hell - Their torches are burning
Condemned to hell - My freedom will burn at the stake
Condemned to hell - The dark age returning
Chained in darkness - Screaming for the light!
Killing pain to save my life
[Chorus]
Condemned to hell - I`m facing the end of my days
Condemned to hell - Their torches are burning
Condemned to hell - My freedom will burn at the stake
Condemned to hell - The dark age returning
Condemned to hell
Condemned
[Repeat 3 times]
Hell! Hell!
[Repeat `till the end]
Jimi Hendrix lyrics in general, but mostly If 6 was 9:
Yeah)
(Sing a song, brother)
If the sun refused to shine,
I don’t mind, I don’t mind.
(Yeah)
If the mountains fell in the sea,
Let it be, it ain’t me.
Got my own world to live through
And I ain’t gonna copy you.
Now, if 6 turned up to be 9,
I don’t mind, I don’t mind.
If all the hippies cut off their hair,
I don’t care, I don’t care.
Did, 'cos I got my own world to live through
And I ain’t gonna copy you.
White-collar conservatives flashing down the street
Pointing their plastic finger at me.
They’re hoping soon my kind will drop and die,
But I’m gonna wave my freak flag high . . . HIGH!
Hah, hah
Falling mountains just don’t fall on me
Point on mister Buisnessman,
You can’t dress like me.
Nobody know what I’m talking about
I’ve got my own life to live
I’m the one that’s gonna have to die
When it’s time for me to die
So let me live my life the way I want to.
Yeah . . .
Sing on brother,
Play on drums. . .
I always thought the Trees was more pro-union then really libertarian.
And I still somewhat think that after reading the lyrics.
I think Falco had some pretty libertarian lyrics (kidding). I know this is off-topic but Falco was the man!
Rush - The Trees
There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble with the trees,
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their please.
(Problem is stated.)
The trouble with the maples,
(And they’re quite convinced they’re right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light.
But the oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made.
And they wonder why the maples
Can’t be happy in their shade.
(Obviously the maples are upset at the oaks, and the reasons are that the oaks are naturally bigger (by nature) and they want sunlight to, so they want equality - or some egalitarian policy.)
There is trouble in the forest,
And the creatures all have fled,
As the maples scream “Oppression!”
And the oaks just shake their heads
(Conflict.)
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights.
“The oaks are just too greedy;
We will make them give us light.”
Now there’s no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.
(Maples used the force of the State to make everyone equal regardless of that the oaks were naturally large and lofty. “By hatchet, axe, and saw” is pretty obvious use of State power.)
Neil Peart, the drummer and lyricist for Rush, was big into Ayn Rand. I’ve read the history on these lyrics and he said this song particularly has nothing to do with libertarianism, or anything of the sort, and it was based off a cartoon or a book he read about trees fighting like people. The song Anthem obviously shows the Rand influence.
"Know your place in life is where you want to be,
Don’t let them tell you that you owe it all to me.
Keep on looking forward; no use in looking 'round;
Hold your head above the ground and they won’t bring you down.
Anthem of the heart and anthem of the mind
A funeral dirge for eyes gone blind
We marvel after those who sought
The wonders of the world, wonders of the world,
Wonders of the world they wrought.
Live for yourself – there’s no one else
More worth living for
Begging hands and bleeding hearts will only cry out for more
Well, I know they’ve always told you
Selfishness was wrong
Yes it was for me, not you, I came to write this song"
I have a love/hate relationship with Bad Religion. Once in a while, they come out with a brilliant song exploding with individualist themes. Then they go back to parading their progressive messages. sigh
If you come across any band in the punk genre that tries to get political (beyond just being anti-war, anti-state) they end up spouting something progressive and socialist and sometimes without realizing it.
Right about now NWA court is in full effect.
Judge Dre presiding in the case of NWA versus the police department.
Prosecuting attourneys are MC Ren Ice Cube and Eazy muthafuckin E.
Order order order. Ice Cube take the muthafuckin stand.
Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth
and nothin but the truth so help your black ass?
Why don’t you tell everybody what the fuck you gotta say?
Fuck tha police
Comin straight from the underground
Young nigga got it bad cuz I’m brown
And not the other color so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority
Fuck that shit, cuz I ain’t tha one
For a punk muthafucka with a badge and a gun
To be beatin on, and throwin in jail
We could go toe to toe in the middle of a cell
Fuckin with me cuz I’m a teenager
With a little bit of gold and a pager
Searchin my car, lookin for the product
Thinkin every nigga is sellin narcotics
You’d rather see me in the pen
Then me and Lorenzo rollin in the Benzo
Beat tha police outta shape
And when I’m finished, bring the yellow tape
To tape off the scene of the slaughter
Still can’t swallow bread and water
I don’t know if they fags or what
Search a nigga down and grabbin his nuts
And on the other hand, without a gun they can’t get none
But don’t let it be a black and a white one
Cuz they slam ya down to the street top
Black police showin out for the white cop
Ice Cube will swarm
On any muthafucka in a blue uniform
Just cuz I’m from the CPT, punk police are afraid of me
A young nigga on a warpath
And when I’m finished, it’s gonna be a bloodbath
Of cops, dyin in LA
Yo Dre, I got somethin to say
Fuck the police (4X)
M. C. Ren, will you please give your testimony to the jury about this fucked up incident.>
Fuck tha police and Ren said it with authority
because the niggaz on the street is a majority.
A gang, is with whoever I’m stepping
and the motherfuckin’ weapon
is kept in a stash box, for the so-called law
wishin’ Ren was a nigga that they never saw
Lights start flashin behind me
But they’re scared of a nigga so they mace me to blind me
But that shit don’t work, I just laugh
Because it gives em a hint not to step in my path
To the police I’m sayin fuck you punk
Readin my rights and shit, it’s all junk
Pullin out a silly club, so you stand
With a fake assed badge and a gun in your hand
But take off the gun so you can see what’s up
And we’ll go at it punk, I’ma fuck you up
Make ya think I’m a kick your ass
But drop your gat, and Ren’s gonna blast
I’m sneaky as fuck when it comes to crime
But I’m a smoke em now, and not next time
Smoke any muthafucka that sweats me
Or any assho that threatens me
I’m a sniper with a hell of a scope
Takin out a cop or two, they can’t cope with me
The muthafuckin villian that’s mad
With potential to get bad as fuck
So I’m a turn it around
Put in my clip, yo, and this is the sound
Ya, somethin like that, but it all depends on the size of the gat
Takin out a police would make my day
But a nigga like Ren don’t give a fuck to say
Fuck the police (4X)
Police, open now. We have a warrant for Eazy-E’s arrest.
Get down and put your hands up where I can see em.
Just shut the fuck up and get your muthafuckin ass on the floor.
[huh?]>
and tell the jury how you feel abou this bullshit.>
I’m tired of the muthafuckin jackin
Sweatin my gang while I’m chillin in the shackin
Shining tha light in my face, and for what
Maybe it’s because I kick so much butt
I kick ass, or maybe cuz I blast
On a stupid assed nigga when I’m playin with the trigga
Of any Uzi or an AK
Cuz the police always got somethin stupid to say
They put up my picture with silence
Cuz my identity by itself causes violence
The E with the criminal behavior
Yeah, I’m a gansta, but still I got flavor
Without a gun and a badge, what do ya got?
A sucka in a uniform waitin to get shot,
By me, or another nigga.
and with a gat it don’t matter if he’s smarter or bigger
[MC Ren: Sidle him, kid, he’s from the old school, fool]
And as you all know, E’s here to rule
Whenever I’m rollin, keep lookin in the mirror
And there’s no cue, yo, so I can hear a
Dumb muthafucka with a gun
And if I’m rollin off the 8, he’ll be tha one
That I take out, and then get away
And while I’m drivin off laughin
This is what I’ll say
Fuck the police (4X)
The jury has found you guilty of bein a redneck,
whitebread, chickenshit muthafucka.
Wait, that’s a lie. That’s a goddamn lie.
I want justice! I want justice!
Fuck you, you black muthafucka!>
Fuck the police (3X)
|
You, Yes You, Stand Still Laddie! When we grew up and went to school, there were certain teachers who would hurt the children anyway they could Out in the middle of nowhere they were home at night ooooooooooooo, oooooooo, ooooooooooo, ooooooooo, ooooooooo, ooooooooo,oooo. We don’t need no education (A bunch of kids singing) We don’t need no education Spoken: [Sound of many TV’s coming on, all on different channels] I don’t need no arms around me |
Tesla - Government Personnel
Go straight to hell,
All you government personnel,
Sittin’ awf’ly well
In your big, white house up on the hill.
You say now, give me a home
Where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and antelope play.
You can bet your ass we’ll blow them all away.
Fuck it up until it’s bent,
Then a-wonder where it went.
Thinkin’ you was a-heaven sent, ha ha ha,
You’re nothin’ but hell!
Go straight to hell.
Pink Floyd - When the Tigers Broke Free
It was just before dawn
One miserable morning in black 'forty four.
When the forward commander
Was told to sit tight
When he asked that his men be withdrawn.
And the Generals gave thanks
As the other ranks held back
The enemy tanks for a while.
And the Anzio bridgehead
Was held for the price
Of a few hundred ordinary lives.
And kind old King George
Sent Mother a note
When he heard that father was gone.
It was, I recall,
In the form of a scroll,
With gold leaf and all.
And I found it one day
In a drawer of old photographs, hidden away.
And my eyes still grow damp to remember
His Majesty signed
With his own rubber stamp.
It was dark all around.
There was frost in the ground
When the tigers broke free.
And no one survived
From the Royal Fusiliers Company C.
They were all left behind,
Most of them dead,
The rest of them dying.
And that’s how the High Command
Took my daddy from me.
There are, in my opinion, a bunch of libertarian theme songs by Pink Floyd especially in The Wall. Songs like “In the Flesh?” and “Run like Hell” are better demonstrated in the context of the movie The Wall as they show him as a crazy Hitler-type dictator.
From The Wall til the depart of Roger Waters from Pink Floyd, their lyrics have mostly focused around World War II references and what not.